I had a part of my salary based on meeting the sales target for years, even tough I am not a sales guy. At first, I was not that happy with these arrangements. My point was, that I cannot directly influence this, so it is not fair. I have changed my mind since.
A lot of people in similar situation (either part of salary based on revenue or bonuses depending on it) have asked me if this is OK or how can they contribute to fulfilling the sales target so they can get the money in the end.
Below is a short list of activities I try to do to contribute to meeting the sales target indirectly
- Do your job well
- If a sales guy asks you something, make sure they get the best information possible
- If you can help your customer or partner, do it
- If you identify something that needs to be solved and there is no one on top of it, you should be on top of it
- Set relevant goals and try to get them done
- Prepare for each 1:1 and meeting with stuff to improve, updates and feedback. Follow up on action items
- If a document/guideline/manual is missing or out of date, create one or update it
- Prepare good demos and use cases for the stuff you work on so your colleagues and customers can use it and sell it
- If you can do something, and it is not part of your job description, just do it anyway. Job description is just a label
- If a process is not effective, improve it. If you cannot, suggest improvements to those who can
- If there is a decision to be made, and you can make it, make it. Do not hide behind processes and management
- If you can help a teammate, help them. If you cannot help them or don’t know how to, try to suggest another colleague or team they could try to get it done
- Train your (junior) colleagues when you see they can do something in a better way
- If you know about a tool/process/methodology that helps you do your job better, share it with colleagues
- If you work with other teams, regularly evaluate how you can improve the cooperation
- If HR is looking for a candidate, share the position posting where you can and think about people you know to recommend
- If your company shares something on social media, share it to your network
- Follow people, competitors, news, podcasts, videos etc. in your industry and if you see an opportunity, share it with sales team or other relevant teams and colleagues
- Talk about your work with acquaintances. You never know when there is a deal, new colleague or other opportunity around the corner
- Attend conferences and meetups and present your company well
I will be glad, if you send me yours tips